Blair's bad bet.

Throwing it all away for nothing.

If Blair wanted influence, then he should have acted accordingly.
If you act nicely towards the Americans, then they take you for
granted. But if you act aggressively, simply blackmailing them
á la Ariel Sharon if necessary, then you can achieve your goals.
But if you just go along, and humbly say "We would like you to
think about these things a little, if you don´t mind..." then you
will get nothing. Bastards prevail in politics, not loyal sidekicks.
They become to be seen as poodles of foreign powers and end
writing their memories while still in middle-age.